Woman who was attacked in her own home shares horror ordeal

IT began with a 'click, click' at the security door, the following moments became a nightmare.

As her husband, who suffers Alzheimers, daughter-in-law and five-year-old son slept in a Rockhampton home, a woman in her late 60s became the target of a serious assault.

Covered in bruises but her voice unwavering, the woman recounted the moments now etched in her memory from 10.30pm Friday, November 25.

"My husband was asleep, I did have the blinds open, I had all the lights on in the house, I had outside lights on, I had locked the front door, I am sure of that," she recalled.

"I had already put one load of washing out at about 10pm and my husband had gone to sleep and my daughter-in-law and grandson were asleep. I put my husband's new bag on for the catheter, I was in the bedroom, turned the television off and was about to walk out.

"Next I heard a 'click click' on the back door, I didn't have the main door shut to let the air through, I did have the security screen door locked.

"I yelled 'is that you (to my daughter-in-law)' and was in the bedroom. Next minute this guy pounced me, he ran past the kitchen and into the bedroom."

The woman suspects the man may have believed she was the only one home and had watched her before the attack.

"He pushed me to the bed and tried to grapple me... my husband was asleep.

"I yelled to my daughter-in-law 'get the police'. I somehow got away from him, I don't know what happened to my husband, he must have jumped up.

"I half shut the door, yelled to my daughter-in-law, raced to the phone and she raced into the room and saw the guy was cornered, he was in one corner and my husband the other.

"Next minute he is diving out the window. He didn't say anything, he didn't have a weapon on him, he didn't smell of alcohol; to look at him he looked like 'the boy next door'. I didn't have a clue who he was."

A 20-year-old Berserker man was captured by police soon after and charged over the incident.

The man has since appeared in Rockhampton Magistrates Court to multiple charges.

The woman said she had lived in the home for 32 years and this was the first time something like this had happened.

She said the incident followed a spike in unrelated property crimes over the past few months in her area and for the couple was the latest in a series of heartbreaking events this year.

"I am normally a very strong bush girl, if you like, but it has hit home really hard and this year has been horrendous for both of us," she said.

"My mum who was 98 in New South Wales where we come from passed away on Mother's Day and my husband's dad passed away in June."

The woman explained her husband has been in and out of hospital since a heart attack in September, followed by prostate problems which require a catheter and recently septicaemia.

"To look after someone who has what he has, added with the catheter, it's a lot of pressure and we didn't need Friday night's incident to happen.

"But it happened and we are dealing with it.

"There's times when I think 'why me', it's the most horrible experience."